Unnoticed
by Sogo
Summary: Luigi is never noticed next to his famous brother. But when a string of murders sweep the complex, he's the only one who can put the pieces together. But is there more to this mystery than meets the eye? Written for Modacelimazing42's contest.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: Luigi**

I gasped as the monster that grabbed me flung me off the edge.

Okay, maybe not the best way to begin. But I didn't die. Years of fighting things like that train you to develop quick reflexes. My hands shot out and caught the glass platform's edge.

_"Look down. Look terrified at the height."_

The voice whispering in my ear wasn't madness. It was the director, trying to play up my fears. Fears I was desperately trying to get rid of, and I may have lied about conquering most of them.

But I still glanced down.

I didn't have to act terrified at the blue-purple darkness spiraling down beneath me—I was terrified. I took a deep breath, reminding myself that there was a net down below. I just couldn't see it.

This led to me wondering if they hadn't forgotten to put the net out.

I shook my head, swallowing my fear, and pulled myself back up onto the glass platform… just in time to be slammed by a monster that had been sent flying by King Dedede's hammer.

Luckily, the force of this blow was strong enough to send me soaring onto the next platform. I quickly pushed the monster off the edge.

"Luigi!" Ness leapt towards me as I stood up. "Are you okay? I didn't realize you were still there! When you didn't flip back up—"

I knew what he meant. He'd thought I'd fallen, and believing we'd have to do another take, hadn't fought as hard. This led to King Dedede smashing the monster, which smashed me.

_"Bad grip."_

I leapt upon the director's suggestion gratefully. "I had a bad grip. It took me a minute to get myself back up."

The platform shook as King Dedede's heavy form landed on it. "Will we continue now?"

"Right," I said, leading the way. That was the downside of not choreographing the fights. They were much more realistic, but you had to remember afterwards that you were being filmed and move on.

_"Slowly move back. Let Dedede take the lead."_

I obeyed, pausing a moment as if nervous, and letting the huge… was he a man?... move in front of me.

The next door we moved through led to a lot of shouting between the king and someone in the distance. I had to squint to recognize Bowser.

Then I stepped backwards. The tyrannical monster "king" scared me… as did practically everything else.

I needed to get out of the hero business.

Sadly, I stepped on Ness's foot, causing the ten-year-old psychic to yelp and nearly tumble off the edge. I caught him in time.

_"Good job! Now act nervous during the fight!"_

Fight? Uh oh.

By the time Ness was steadied, Bowser and Dedede were going at it.

I was so intent on getting away from them, I tripped off the edge myself. Luckily, I caught myself again. Ness, engrossed in the fight, didn't notice. Or was he receiving orders to act like he didn't? Either way, it was realistic.

_"Struggle for a moment."_

I obeyed, acting as if it were difficult to pull myself back onto the platform. When they said I could, I climbed back up gratefully.

_"Follow them up the staircase."_

Stairs! I could do stairs!

I ran to catch up to the others, already several steps ahead of me.

_"And… cut."_

I immediately yanked the earpiece out. It was nice that it told you what to do, but it was starting to get annoying.

The glowing lines on the floor faded, and the eerie lights went out as normal light came up. The huge stairway sunk down into the floor.

The doors to the stage flew open as the director, a tall man with black hair and dark eyes, came in.

"What was that?" he cried.

Ness lowered his head. Were we going to have to redo the shot? It had taken an hour to do, hunting down all the trophies. Of course, it usually did take longer. Often they were shooting scenes in five or ten minute increments.

I had done everything they wanted to do. What went wrong?

Then the director's face split into a wide smile. "Because that was the best bit of acting I've ever seen! That, ladies and gents, is a wrap!"

My mouth fell open. It was the first full length segment I'd ever shot with _Brawl_. And I'd done it perfectly.

Ness was just as surprised. "But…"

"We got everything we wanted, and more!"

Ness was still in shock. "But it's only four in the afternoon…"

"A new record," the director agreed. "Now, you guys have some free time. Spend it wisely." He turned to the rest of the onstage crew. "And someone get Kirby in here so we can start filming the next part."

Ness, still unable to move, simply stared at me until I took his hand and gently towed him to the changing rooms.

Dedede followed us, but stepped into the non human changing rooms. When _Brawl_ had first started, there had been a big issue about separating the female and male non humans until someone bright pointed out there weren't any female non humans. Then someone asked if they weren't female why Kirby and Jigglypuff were pink, and that led to several honor related brawls that eventually resulted in four broken arms, three sprained wrists, six sprained legs, fourteen dislocated shoulders, and many, many various cuts and bruises.

It was around then that the staff decided it would make life easier if people wore modern clothing outside the arena and stage. When the non humans pointed out that they would have difficulty doing that, the rule was made optional.

However, it was a rule everyone followed after the incident with Marth's cape and a refrigerator motor.

But I won't get into that.

Ness seemed to wake up once we left the stage.

"One take?" he whispered.

"Yep," I answered, unlocking my locker. They hadn't originally had locks, but there had been an issue with someone (Link, we were sure) filling lockers with mud and other disgusting things.

"But it usually takes a million…"

"Yep."

Ness seemed to realize something. "That was your first full length shot!"

"Yep."

"But you did it perfectly! Not even Mario—"

I stiffened, though Ness didn't notice, instead finally moving to his locker. Of course he would compare me to Mario. Of course he would compare me to my brother.

I decided to take a cold shower. I needed to calm down.

No sooner had I thought this then a shout echoed from the shower room. Marth, dripping wet and clad in nothing but a towel came storming from the showers. He glanced at us. "Don't use the far left shower."

Ness and I nodded, trying and failing to not grin at the sight of the angry prince.

The sixteen-year-old scowled and ran for the door, shouting Link's name at the top of his lungs. It must have been a good prank. Probably something with the water temperature or pressure.

"Don't let the fan girls catch you like that!" came Ike's smooth voice from behind us. We hadn't noticed that the seventeen-year-old was in the room.

The first person to finally laugh was Pit, the twelve-year-old angel standing next to Ike. I hadn't noticed him either.

Then I couldn't contain it and started laughing, then Ness, and finally Ike as he started for the showers, Pit tailing behind him.

I knew Pit thought Ike was the coolest, and followed him in awe. The only thing cooler was hanging out with the sixteen-year-olds, Marth, Link, Zelda or Sheik (whoever she was being at the time), Samus, and Ash.

I didn't hang out with them. Mario did occasionally, he and Peach. Peach was nineteen, Mario twenty. I was twenty too—the younger of us, though, but no one had ever pointed out that I was the younger brother, and, frankly, more suited for a nineteen-year-old princess.

The thought made me sigh. I would always be in my brother's shadow.

Two shouts came from the showers, and Ike and Pit ran out, wet and, like Marth, wearing nothing but towels. "Link!" Ike roared as he sprinted out the door, Pit right behind him.

Ness grinned. "The fan girls will riot."

I noticed a small bug crawling out of the shower room and decided I really didn't need to take a shower. "No kidding. Whatever Link did, it must have been bad. Five bucks says there'll be a three on one brawl later." Brawls usually took place in the morning, but when someone got mad about something, they could challenge someone to a retaliation brawl. They were always the most interesting to watch.

Ness's grin widened. "You're right!" He pulled on another t-shirt and tossed his hat in the locker. "Dinner entertainment!" He slammed his locker shut and sprinted out of the room at top speed.

I laughed and pulled on a green t-shirt and jeans. I'd already shoved my clothes, hat, and gloves into the locker. Now I added my boots, replaced them with tennis shoes, shut the locker, and walked out the door.

"Luigi!"

I glanced over to see Princess Peach running over. She looked amazing: she was wearing a tight light pink short sleeved shirt and tight jeans. She, like Zelda, usually wore her crown.

I was struck speechless. She was _smiling_ at me.

Right, I had to respond. "Hi."

She held out a clipboard. "Are you going to sign up?"

I blinked, trying to make sense of the words. "For what?"

She laughed. It made me feel good. I had made her laugh! "For the charity thing. There's this auction going on, and _Brawl _staff suggested that we all sign up for a day. People can bid for the chance to follow us around for a day."

I hardly heard the words. "Um… okay."

She thrust the clipboard at me again. "Are you going to take it?"

I took the clipboard, scanned it, and signed my name on the appropriate space. "There," I said, handing the clipboard back to her.

"Thanks!" she sang, skipping off. I watched her go and sighed. She was so beautiful…

"Excuse me?"

I turned around to see a short man with gray hair in a blue jumpsuit. "I got a call about bugs."

I pointed to the changing rooms. "In the showers."

He nodded, starting to open the door.

"They may be of a Hylian origin," I suggested, walking away. "Just so you know."

He frowned at me as I walked away. "What?"

"You're in _Brawl_!" I called. "Those bugs may have come from Hyrule!"

He shrugged, like I was crazy and walked in. I continued my path to my room, pausing only to smile when I heard the guy's shout. He was obviously new to _Brawl_.

I reached my room, smiling at the small plaque on the door the read, in small letters, _Luigi Mario_.

"MARIO! IF YOU DON'T SIGN THIS THING IN THE NEXT FIVE MINUTES I AM OFFICIALLY DUMPING YOU!"

I jumped and covered my ears. I hadn't noticed Peach was at the next door: my brother's. I sighed, knowing the threat was empty. I also knew that, when Mario stumbled out of the room half asleep and cursing in Italian, there would be no temporary break up, and that the only reason he hadn't signed it was that he'd been napping.

Pity. It was almost for certain that Peach would come to me for a jealousy date.

And I would have said yes.

I sighed again, pushing into my room.

The walls of my room, like almost everyone's room, were covered in posters of the best games I'd been in. My "finest moments". There were several of them, but if anyone thought I had a lot, they hadn't seen Mario's room.

My brother seems to have done everything! He's got posters of him as a doctor, doing sports, as a plumber… He even has a picture of him refereeing a boxing match somewhere.

Yeah… He's the famous Mario.

And I'm the overlooked Luigi. Unnoticed, always in his shadow. I jump higher, run faster… what can he do that I can't?

Besides doctor.

Maybe he is a bit braver. And quieter. But I'm quiet too!

Not that anyone notices.

I flopped onto my bed, wondering what he was doing now. Probably signing the charity thing Peach wanted him to.

My thoughts drifted to the shooting we'd done. It was the first, and only perfect shot we'd done. The director had said that my acting was excellent. That we'd done the best he'd ever seen.

Another thing I'd never be noticed for.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: New Record**

"_Attention all _Brawl _members. There will be a three-on-one retaliation brawl at six. Team blue is Marth, Ike, and Pit. Team Green is Link. After this, there will be a second retaliation brawl, Fox versus Wolf. Enjoy your evening."_

I looked up from my book, wondering what on earth Wolf could have done this time. I'd heard rumors of someone sneaking weapons from the locker rooms, but… that seemed a little over the top. If someone did that, they'd be sent home, and that was that.

My phone rang. Nintendo had given us each a new cell phone when we arrived at brawl, with all of the brawler's numbers programmed in.

It was Toon Link.

"Hey, have you heard about the brawls?" he asked. "Two in a day."

"More than usual," I agreed.

"Want to get supper together? I'm getting a small group together."

"Sure." I was rarely asked to go to supper with anyone, even just as friends. "What time?"

"I was thinking 5:45, so we can have our food in time to see the brawl."

"I'll be there." I hung up, wondering how I could spend the hour I had left.

I decided to go to the game room.

The game room is pretty sweet. It's filled with every Nintendo video game system in existence, plus some that aren't ready for the public yet. Recently, they were letting us try out this virtual system, too. You could play with up to four people, and you got in a black suit. It pulled you up to the ceiling, so you could play without the fear of walking into a wall. It was neat.

There were only a few games, but that was okay.

They also had a lot of board games, and a big T.V. Everyone loved the game room.

They even had a pool table.

And a lot of things I haven't mentioned.

I walked into the game room. The suits were occupied. They were wiggling around. It looked like one was trying to hula hoop.

Ike and Ash, the Pokémon Trainer, were lounging on a sofa in front of the T.V., and were watching some ridiculously stupid cartoon with lots of explosions. Pit sat cross legged on the floor in front of them, between Ivysaur and Squirtle. Pikachu was curled in the boy's lap. Lucario and Charizard stood motionless behind the couch with their eyes on the television, and Jigglypuff was struggling to play the DS with no fingers.

I watched Jigglypuff for a few minutes. It was behaving ridiculously, and eventually succeeded in jumping and not shooting fireballs at the same time.

Huh. It was playing _New Super Mario Bros._ As Mario, of course. I wondered if it was up to the challenge of me playing it in multiplayer.

After watching it walk off the edge for the seventeenth time, I decided it wasn't.

I wished someone would play something with me. Ash laughed at something on the T.V., and I was briefly jealous. All of the Pokèmon followed him around, even Lucario, Pikachu, and Jigglypuff. He was never lonely.

Then the jealousy was gone. What would it be like, I wondered, to never have time to yourself?

Ash seemed to be handling that pretty well, though.

The black suits began lowering themselves down from the ceiling. As they touched the floor, one of the black helmets whipped off. It was Link.

"CHAMP!" he shouted, then fell over, trying to get out of the suit.

"FAIL!" retorted the next in line—Marth—as he yanked off his helmet. "You just wait until tonight! We will slaughter you!"

Link stuck his tongue out and finally managed to pull out of his suit. "You can _try_. But you will never touch me, _Martha_."

With that, he dashed out of the room—and with good reason. Marth yanked out of his suit and sprinted after the Hylian roaring "LINK!" at the top of his lungs.

Perhaps there would be a third retaliation brawl…

I shook my head. No there wouldn't.

The other two players climbed out of their suits—Zelda and Samus.

"Who do you think will actually win tonight?" Zelda asked worriedly.

"I don't think it takes a genius to figure out that Link's going to get his butt kicked," Samus answered. "Look—he's up against some dang good fighters, all of which have, at some point, beaten him one-on-one. There's no way he's going to win."

"Smash ball?" Zelda suggested hopefully.

Samus shook her head. "Might work on one. _Maybe_ two. But not three—plus, first he'll have to _get_ the smash ball."

It was a good point.

As they joined Ike and Ash at the T.V., I left the game room. There was no one there whom I wanted to talk to.

Maybe I could get some training in…

"Hey, Luigi."

I glanced behind me. Falco was following me, also headed towards the gym.

"You doing some training?" he asked.

I shrugged. "I was thinking about it. I need to work on my jump punch."

"I was wondering if you'd partner up with me to try for the 'Break the Targets' record. I noticed you're really fast at it, and I'm decent too… I think we could beat the old record set by Fox and Kirby."

I smiled. I was actually one of the fastest when it came to Break the Targets—not because of speed, but because of strategy. Falco was quick too—between the two of us, we actually might have a shot. "Alright. Meet you at Level One in ten minutes."

Falco nodded and ran for the non-human changing rooms.

I changed quickly and hurried for the door that led to the challenge rooms. They were good training too, maybe better than the gym.

Falco was waiting for me outside the door, blaster strapped to his hip. "Any suggestions?"

"Yes," I answered, remembering the tricks I'd learned about the first target stage. "Don't stay with me. I'll go right, you go left. Don't miss."

Falco nodded. "Good luck."

"You too," I responded, and got ready to move as the door opened.

I didn't take time to revel in the beauty of the computer generated bright blue sky, or the green grass that took set designers days to put together. I sprinted straight off for my first target.

A quickly summoned fireball did the trick, shattering the target to pieces. Behind me, I heard the sound of another target falling to pieces, and knew Falco was doing his job well.

The second target was air born, but I jumped up and sent another fireball into it as I dropped off the edge and kicked the next target apart. As the pieces hit the ground, I was already sprinting in the opposite direction, falling, landing close enough to my fourth target to send another fireball into it.

My fifth target was once again behind me, so I flipped off the edge of the platform and punched through it—just as Falco had punched through his fifth.

That was all ten.

_"Congratulations on completion of this challenge. Please return to the entrance of the level to view all stats."_

Falco and I obeyed the recording, climbing back up the platforms and pushing through the entrance doors.

We found the screen displaying our stats and flipped through them—though one message kept flashing across the screen.

_NEW RECORD_

I laughed. "We did it."

Falco shook his head. "You did it, Luigi. I never would have thought to split up like that."

I shrugged nonchalantly. "A while ago I noticed that the slower characters weren't as far behind as I'd thought they'd be. I observed one of their sessions, and saw them split up. That's where I got the idea."

"Figures none of them shared it—they'd hate to fall far behind."

"Yeah," I agreed. "No one wants to be behind."

We split up and headed back to the changing room with promises to do another level together soon.

After showering in a now bug free shower, I decided it was time to head down to dinner. I hadn't taken a step out of the room before an announcement came over the loudspeaker. "_Congratulations to Luigi and Falco, who beat the record on the first level of the 'Break the Targets' challenge._"

I smiled. Good.

The dining hall was an expansive room filled with large rectangular tables. On the far wall, a huge plasma screen had been installed.

"Luigi! There you are!"

Toon Link had vaulted over the table he was eating at and tackled me.

"LUIGI!" he shrieked, succeeding in bowling me backwards and causing everyone in the room to look at us. "CONGRATULATIONS! HOW'D YOU DO IT?"

I winced, trying to pry myself from his grip. The kid was both loud and strong. "Um… Strategy? Could you let go of me?"

Toon Link released his grip.

"Sorry I alerted the brat of your presence," Wario said, grinning from where he sat. "Better go get something to eat before the fight starts."

I nodded and ran to the buffet. There was always a lot of food, and it was from a variety of worlds. Today, I recognized the pile of rocks in one corner—a Goron specialty from Hyrule—and wondered why the Brawl staff kept serving the stuff, even though everyone hated it and/or couldn't digest it.

I located the spaghetti and treated myself to a heaping plateful. Almost subconsciously, my gaze drifted over to where Mario and Peach were sitting with Ash, Zelda, and Samus. There were open spots next to them, obviously being saved for Link, Ike, Marth, and Pit.

Some part of me realized Mario was having the mushroom soup. Ugh! Honestly, did he eat anything but cake and mushrooms? We may have been from Mushroom Kingdom, but eating them all the time got old fast. I personally enjoyed variety.

Toon Link waved franticly at me, breaking me from my thoughts. I took my food and sat down at the only open spot—next to Wario.

Oh, dear…

It's not that I hate him. He's a great guy. He's also the last person anyone wants to sit by. And not just because of his… signature odor. He never stops making disgusting jokes.

That was why he sat with the "losers".

Let me explain.

There are three types of people here. The super popular, whom everyone knows and loves, the villains, whom everyone knows and hates, and the easily forgotten.

There's a fourth group, heroes some people love. People remember them, it's just that they aren't constantly sought after by fan girls.

For example, Captain Falcon and Snake both fall into that group, as does Sonic. Though Sonic might just be there because he's a non-human.

Some part of me wonders why Wario is in the "forgotten" group, but I think the other groups kind of kicked him out. So I pity the guy.

"So, who do you think's going to win?" Toon Link asked, talking very quickly. "I think that Link doesn't stand a chance, but you never know…"

Wario belched. Okay, maybe I don't pity him that much… "Link doesn't stand a chance. Frankly, he deserves everything coming to him. You should have seen that exterminator. The guy looked like he was about to be sick."

Popo shook his head. "I think Link might have a chance. He's been working on his swordplay. I think that the prank may have been his way of getting into a three versus one brawl and that he's going to show what he can do."

Diddy Kong snorted.

"I have seen him training," I ventured. "He's good. He has a chance. But I'm not going to bet money on that," I added quickly as Wario opened his mouth.

Wario scowled and closed it again.

I started on my food.

Suddenly, a hand touched my shoulder. I jumped. It was Ness.

"Ness, you almost gave me a heart attack!" I groaned as everyone else laughed, knowing of my many, many, many fears.

"Sorry," the boy said quickly. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay after the filming. I mean, I just looked the film over, and you looked freaked about the height."

"I did that because that's what the director told me to do," I answered.

Wario snorted and slapped me on the back, almost causing my face to slam into my food. The man hit hard. "Sure you did, pip squeak."

I frowned. "Don't call me that."

Ness, eager to avert the fight, spoke up. "Look, I just wanted to know why you didn't flip back onto the platform. You did have a good grip, and I thought it was something Mario would do—"

The mention of my older brother brought me to my feet. The table was silent.

"Let me tell you something," I said coldly. "I am not my brother. I never was my brother. I never will be my brother. So if you wanted something that he would do, go get him, because I won't always do what he would. _I'm not him_. And I don't want to be."

Every eye of the table was on me. Some part of me was glad that no one at the other tables—particularly Mario—was listening.

"I hate him," I finished. I spun around and stalked from the room, leaving my half-eaten dinner at my spot.

As I left, the table remained quiet, in shock. Luckily, at that moment, the brawl came on, wiping all thoughts of my outburst from their minds as a group of teenagers tried to kill each other.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: Offer**

I opened my eyes. I couldn't see anything. I tried to remember how I had gotten here, but the last thing I remembered was the outburst at dinner and then going to bed.

So how the hell did I come to be blindfolded and tied to a chair?

Well, my head hurt. Maybe I had been drugged?

Or maybe whoever had brought me here had just waited for me to fall asleep. Much more likely than the drug option.

Still, that didn't change the facts. Some maniac had tied me up. Why?

"Oh, you're awake."

I thought about that for a second. How did I want to act towards this guy? Not scared, that was for sure. "That line is completely clichéd."

The voice, a man's, laughed. "So it is. Forgive me for tying you up like this, but I can't risk you seeing my face. I have a proposition for you."

I tried to pick up anything I could about the man's voice. Something about it seemed familiar… But he was disguising it. I wasn't sure how. "Go on," I said.

The man laughed again. What was it about his voice? I could almost place it… no.

"I need a job done. I want you to kill Mario."

The words shocked me enough for me to stop trying to figure out who this man was.

"Kill…?"

"Yes. You will be rewarded, of course. Your brother will no longer outshine you. Isn't that what you want?"

I shifted uneasily. "Why me?"

"Because no one would suspect Mario to be killed by his own brother. After all, you two are close, are you not? Who would think that you were the one to shoot him?"

"Everyone I sat with at dinner, for one," I answered, shivering. This was creeping me out. The voice couldn't be serious, could it?

"But you don't really hate him. He annoys you to no end, but you don't really hate him. At times, though, you can be vocal on the fact."

This hit me through. Really, it was true. I didn't hate him.

"You're right," I said.

"So you'll do it?"

I shook my head. "No. Because you're right. I don't really hate him, though he can be annoying. I love my brother. Sometimes, I just can't see that."

There was a long moment of silence. Then the man spoke.

"You disappoint me, Luigi. I thought you would be the perfect one to kill Mario."

"I love my brother," I repeated.

"But you are the perfect one. Hm…"

Something smacked me, but it wasn't a physical thing. Something had just smacked into me mentally.

It sent me flying across the room anyways.

I moaned as darkness started to close in, something darker than the inside of my blindfold.

"Good night, Luigi," the man chuckled.

xXx

My head hurt, but I pried open my eyes anyways.

I was in my room.

I sighed with relief. The voice asking me to kill Mario… it must have been a dream. That was good. I didn't like the sound of whatever the voice was planning next.

Still, I couldn't shake the feeling that I knew the voice from somewhere.

Maybe… it had been a sign?

I heard shouting outside. That couldn't be good.

Someone banged on my door as the shouting got louder.

I yanked myself to my feet and went to open it.

"DID YOU HEAR THE NEWS?" Toon Link had to shout louder than usual to make himself heard over the ruckus, and that's saying something. (Let me repeat. The kid is loud.) "THEY'RE HAVING WORLD FREE-FOR-ALL BRAWLS!"

I blinked. "Um… what?"

Popo grinned. "Everyone from a certain world tries to kill each other! So you'll be in a fight with Mario, Peach, and Bowser!"

Wonderful. I was screwed.

"I'M GOING AGAINST ZELDA, LINK, AND GANONDORF!" Toon Link cried excitedly. "THERE'S AN ALL POKEMON BATTLE TOO!"

Lucario seemed to materialize behind them. _Indeed._ Its eyes found mine. _Are you feeling alright_?

"Course I am," I said, wondering why he'd ask.

_There is something off with your aura. I can't put my finger on what it is…_ The Pokémon looked thoughtful for a moment before wandering back into the fray.

I frowned, feeling uneasy. Why would there be something off with my aura? I thought back to my dream. Could there have been some truth in it after all?

No. That was ridiculous. Who'd want to kill Mario?

The large group was slowly making its way down to breakfast.

"Who are you fighting?" I asked Popo.

"Some of us aren't," he answered sadly. "The only other person from my world is Nana, and we fight together."

"Not for long, we won't if you keep wandering off and leaving me alone," snapped a cross voice from behind him.

Popo blushed. "Sorry!" he cried, and, taking her hand, dragged her down to breakfast.

This, of course, left me alone with Toon Link.

"See you at breakfast!" Toon Link cried, spinning around and running after Popo and Nana.

I shook my head and went back into my room to change out of my PJs.

It didn't take long to do, and pretty soon I was downstairs, sitting next to Toon Link and watching the previous day's _Wheel of Fortune_ episode.

"CATCHING A WAVE!" Toon Link screamed at the onscreen people.

I sighed as I sank next to him, wondering why I was doing this.

Wario, across the table (sadly) gave me an apologetic grin. I grimaced back.

"Catching a wave," someone onscreen said.

Some music played as I dug into my food—a cheesy omelet cooked with foreign spices… from Hyrule, perhaps? Toon Link's Hyrule, I recognized with another bite. There was something different about herbs from his world…

Yes, I can cook. It's a necessity, and, I'm actually kind of good at it.

Not that anyone notices.

I'd spoken aloud before I realized it. "These need a little thyme."

Wario laughed. "Undercooked? Take them back to the chef!"

The chef would have thyme… It wasn't a half bad idea.

"I'll be right back," I said quickly, jumping to my feet. I carried my plate with me as I ran towards the kitchens.

I pushed through the doors. Now that breakfast had been prepared, the few cooks we had were cleaning up.

A young woman with light brown hair pulled up in a hair net looked up as I came in. "Is something wrong?"

I froze. "I was just wondering if you had any thyme…"

She crossed to the spice rack and looked through them before selecting a jar and carrying it back to me. "Here."

I opened the jar and sniffed it. I loved the smell of fresh thyme, but…

I handed it back to her. "This is rosemary."

There was a chuckle from one of the older chefs, a woman about my age with black hair and sparkling blue eyes. She was wearing a white apron splattered with grease, but some part of me noticed she looked good in—I realized I was staring and looked away.

"Someone knows his spices," she laughed, taking the jar and exchanging it for the correct one. "May I ask why you want the thyme?"

I opened the jar and sprinkled a little on my omelet. "I thought it needed some."

She smiled as I handed the jar back. "Are you a cook?"

I gave a little bow. "No, ma'm, I'm just an ordinary brawler."

She snorted. "Ordinary brawlers can't tell when meat is done. I've seen them eat undercooked or overcooked meat on many occasions."

News to me. I personally couldn't stand meat that wasn't cooked right. "I may have a taste for good cuisine."

"No kidding," she laughed. "Well, Luigi, I hope you'll drop by again sometime."

I blinked. "You know my name?"

"Of course! The name of the great Luigi isn't exactly shrouded in secrecy!"

I shifted, her tone suddenly reminding me of a wholly unpleasant encounter that had led to me getting brainwashed. "Maybe I will."

She smiled as I left. "Bye!"

She had been nice… Crap, I hadn't gotten her name.

"Hey, Luigi, are you feeling alright?"

I blinked at Toon Link's tone as I sat down. "Fine. Why?"

"You just look like you've seen a ghost. Or something. You look kind of pale, you know? But you are feeling alright? I'm starting to wonder if there's something in what Lucario said, and—WHAT IS PRIDE AND PREJUDICE!"

I followed his eyes, looking up to the screen where _Jeopardy _had just started.

Wario looked interested. "What did Lucario say?"

"Nothing important…" I began as Toon Link said, "It said something's off with Luigi's aura—WHO IS RICHARD NIXON!"

The kid was seriously easily distracted.

Wario frowned. "Something's off with your aura?"

I shrugged. "So he says."

"Look, Lucario's never wrong about anything," Wario said, rolling his eyes. "It can predict almost anything when it comes to people. Not everything, but almost. It knows things, Luigi. Don't throw off its advice lightly."

I nodded. "But what should I do if he's right?"

"I dunno. If he can't tell you, no one can."

I sighed at the unhelpful advice and finished my omelet, which was much better with the added thyme.

"WHAT IS THE TITANIC!" Toon Link screamed as I left to check the brawl schedule.

Lucario blocked my path. _I'm not sure that you should brawl today._

"Why not?" I snapped wearily, tired of everyone making such a big deal out of this whatever-it-was.

_Your attitude shift only tells me that this thing on your aura is bad. It could be adjusting your feelings. I don't feel safe with letting you go out there._

"Until you can tell me exactly what it is, I want you to leave me alone about it!" I cried angrily, shoving past it to get a look at the brawl times. I had twenty minutes to change.

I spun around and stalked towards the dressing rooms.

Mario was already in there. He smiled at me. I didn't return the grin, instead marching straight to my locker, tearing it open, and changing. It didn't take very long.

Even before Mario was done, I was sweeping back the pieces of hair that had fallen out of place—I wasn't combing it this morning—and fixing my hat in the mirror.

And then I jumped back and shouted.

"Luigi?" Mario asked, confused.

I spun around. "Is there anything on my forehead?"

My brother frowned and shook his head.

I turned back to the mirror. There, clear as day, was a bright red symbol on my head. It looked like a red target.

"Is there anything on my reflection's forehead?" I asked, knowing it was a weird question.

Mario crossed the room to peer in the mirror looking annoyed. His eyes widened. He looked at my forehead, then back to the mirror.

The meaning was clear. The spot only showed in my reflection. But that would mean… That would mean…

I sprinted out of the changing rooms. I had to find Lucario.

It was still at the brawl schedule.

"Lucario!" I cried, unsure of how exactly to explain. "Forehead… reflection…"

It looked up at me and frowned. _Yes, I see it now…_

I was supposed to be at the doors, ready for the fight to start. I had to be…

I turned around, but Lucario grabbed my shoulder. _Don't._

I started to pull away. "You don't understand! I have to get to my brawl! I _have_ to be there, do you understand?"

Lucario got a better grip and threw me to the ground. _You are being controlled! Fight it!_

I struggled, but it held me against the ground. Dimly, I was aware of my watch going off. My brawl had started.

"LUIGI!"

Toon Link was going to help me up, but Lucario shook its head. _Something is controlling him. Help me hold him down before he hurts someone._

I screamed as Toon Link's small hands grasped my ankles and shoved them to the floor.

Some part of me pointed out that struggling wasn't going to do any good.

Why was I doing this? I tried to take a deep breath, to calm myself down before someone did get hurt.

Except, I didn't take a deep breath.

My eyes were closed. I tried to open them.

They didn't.

I wasn't in control of my body anymore.

But something—someone—was.

Some others had gathered and were holding me down.

_Kill Mario._

I silently gasped. This was what the thing controlling me wanted.

_Kill Mario._

I fought against this command. That wasn't what I wanted!

_Kill—_

The order broke off along with my obedience. I gasped as control flooded back to me and I opened my eyes.

Everyone was leaning over me, not sure what to think, as my screams had cut off.

_It is done_. Lucario looked tired from where it leaned over me. _He is freed._

I took a deep breath, looking around at the worried faces of Wario, Toon Link, Zelda, Olimar, Popo, Nana, and Pit. "What the heck was that?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: Panic**

Lucario and I told my story to the director and a few other staff members. We didn't tell anyone else—if we could take care of the matter quickly and quietly then there was no need to start a panic.

"We'll keep an eye on Mario," he promised. "Thanks for freeing Luigi so quickly, Lucario."

Lucario nodded at the praise. _Stop whoever did this before someone is hurt._

The director promised he would and sent us on our way.

"Thank you," I told Lucario again. "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't…"

_Mario would have died._ The Pokémon didn't sound even remotely happy at saving someone's life. _I am just glad the crisis had been averted._

I nodded in agreement. "It would have been bad…"

_I don't think it would have been as bad as you believe it to be…_ it began, but trailed off as a shot echoed down the corridor.

"Oh, no…" I said, already running towards the source of the noise.

My mouth fell open as we reached it. Several policemen were already there, and a white sheet lay over a misshapen lump on the ground.

But I recognized that lump and realized why Peach was sobbing into Zelda's shoulder.

There were a few tears in Zelda's eyes, too, and as other brawlers reached the scene, their eyes were tearing up.

There was only one person who could affect everyone like that. Only one person whose death would impact everyone at _Brawl_.

The most famous brawler of them all.

Mario.

My vision grew cloudy and I leaned back against the wall, sinking to the ground.

My brother was dead.

He wasn't supposed to die here. He was supposed to die on a reckless crusade in Mushroom Kingdom while rescuing Peach, or of old age as the King of Mushroom Kingdom, after marrying Peach… Not walking down the halls in a t-shirt and jeans.

This wasn't right.

I sat there for a long time, just thinking about him. And who could have killed him.

xXx

Three days later I sat in front of the director. "I want in."

The director looked at me. "What?"

I sighed at the man's stupidity. "I want to help catch the man who killed my brother. I want in."

He looked at me. "Luigi, I've already told you, we're doing fine. We're closer than you think."

"If you don't have him in custody, than you're _not close enough_!" I shouted angrily. "I want the fiend who killed my brother behind bars! I want to know why my brother was killed! I want to help catch this guy, and I will do it with your help or not!"

The director looked at me and sighed. "Okay, I'll tell you what. You can look at the police files, but if you don't come back with anything that we missed in an hour, you're out. If you find something new, you're in."

I grimaced. I could do that, right?

xXx

Okay, maybe not.

I had read all of the files in half an hour, but what more was there to pick up?

I re-flipped through them.

Wait.

There was something about an intruder in the building—not exactly an intruder, but someone who didn't belong.

I recognized the description immediately and dashed off towards the kitchen.

I pushed through the doors. It was a mad house in here as everyone raced to prepare lunch.

The chef I'd talked to earlier, the one with the long black hair and gorgeou—sorry—motioned me over.

"Hey. What are you doing in here?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name before, Miss…"

"Daniels. But call me Maya."

I smiled. "Okay, Maya. I was wondering who that chef that couldn't tell thyme from rosemary was."

"Oh, she was from another world. One of the ones not in brawl. I can't think of her name, but she was here with her father and wanted to know if she could help out in the kitchen. The poor dear couldn't cook to save her life, but she tried to be as helpful as possible. As a matter of fact, I believe her father was one of the ones in that fight in the visitors stand."

I blinked. The visitors stand was there so people from other worlds who hadn't been invited to participate in _Brawl_ could watch. The day of the shooting, a fight had started up in the stands. One of the cameras had gotten a great shot of it, and I had enjoyed watching a man in a top hat strangling a man in a red jacket.

It had been very amusing.

Shockingly, the top hated man had not been banned from future brawls, though the man in the red jacket was. Something to do with fan favorite.

A little research later, I had concluded that the girl was a dead end. She'd never fired a weapon in her life, and wouldn't hurt a fly—let alone my brother.

At the end of the hour, I marched into the director's office. "The intruder is a dead end," I announced, my stomach twisting as I said it. "I checked out the time tables. Mario had to have been shot by one of us. One of the brawlers."

The director frowned, but nodded. "I'll double check that, but I don't think you're wrong."

"I know I'm not wrong," I answered, but the thought was scary. My brother had been shot by one of the brawlers.

xXx

I had been told to get together a group who would work on solving the case together. They would have to be able to work together, keep secrets (which excluded Toon Link), and look at things from every point of view. After a sleepless night of thinking things through, I came up with our group: me, Peach, Wario, Zelda, Falco, and Lucario.

Maybe I had just put Peach on there because I wanted her on there. Still, she wanted to find Mario's killer as much as I did. Determination was good.

I got the six of us together after lunch the next day. We were all in my room. Peach, Zelda and I sat on the edge of my bed, Wario and Falco had pulled up chairs near us, and Lucario was standing. I had moved a table in the center of us, where the police files lay open.

I announced the news, as well as why we were all here.

"Mario was shot by one of the brawlers."

Immediately Zelda and Falco protested, but I held up my hand. "He had to have been shot by one of the brawlers, and by their own free will, too. Lucario would have noticed if anyone else had their mind messed with. Each of you here could not have shot him. Lucario and I were together leaving the director's office when the shot was fired. Peach would not have shot him under any circumstance, and Zelda was with her. According to the cameras, Wario and Falco were both in the training room at the time, Falco practicing with his blaster, Wario practicing…" I trailed off, grimacing. The particular talent he had been working on was nauseating to say the least.

"But, that still leaves a number of suspects," I continued. "I've gone through the lists, and narrowed it down to these people, who were not on camera when the shots were fired."

"Ash. Donkey Kong. Fox. Kirby. Lucas. Ness. Samus. Snake…"

"What about Bowser?" Wario interrupted.

"At the time in question, he had last been seen on camera entering the non-human changing rooms," I answered, flipping through the files to a map of the _Brawl_ compound. I rapped my finger on the non-human changing room. "All the entrances to that are videotaped."

Falco frowned and pointed to something on the map. "But there's a window."

We all looked at the map. Falco was right. I had missed that detail.

_Bowser may have gone outside of the _Brawl_ complex itself_, Lucario murmured thoughtfully. _Look, there's a window over here where Mario was shot. Bowser wouldn't have even had to set foot inside the compound—the window was open, remember_?

Now that I thought about it, it had been.

"So Bowser shot Mario because he hates him. Case closed," Zelda said, clapping her hands. "Let's go do something fun."

That was when a loud shot echoed through the compound.

xXx

If I had thought that there was a panic in the brawlers before, it was nothing compared to now.

"They shot him!" Zelda cried angrily once we had regrouped. All of the other brawlers had been confined to their rooms for their own safety. "They killed Link too!"

Wario moved slightly away from the grief stricken princess who looked less like she wanted to burst into tears than go beat someone up.

_It was once again someone of their own free will_, Lucario informed us. _No minds—or auras had been tampered with._

"I'll kill them," Zelda hissed.

I personally had no doubt that she would.

My phone rang.

I picked it up. "Hello?"

_"This is the chief of police. I heard you guys were working on this case too. Did you have any suspicions of who killed the last victim?"_

I gritted my teeth. Last victim? Mario was my brother, not just any victim!

"We have suspicions about Bowser," I answered.

"Well, at the time of the shooting, he was still eating lunch. It's on camera. We'll have the list of brawlers not on camera to you tomorrow, okay?"

I sighed. If that was the best they could do…

"Alright. I expect it early." I hung up. "It's not Bowser."

"Back to square one," Wario muttered.

"We'll have the new list of suspects by tomorrow," I promised as my phone rang again. I answered it. "Hello?"

"LUIGI! Ness said that you were helping on the case! What's happening? Do they know anything? Who killed Mario? Who killed Link? What's happening? Am I a suspect? Who else is a suspect? Who isn't a suspect? Are you a suspect? Is—"

"TOON LINK!" I shouted. "I can't tell you anything—it's confidential! And tell Ness that for telling you that he just became a suspect!" I hung up.

"Ness is a suspect," Peach pointed out softly.

"I know," I sighed. "But nothing coming from Toon Link's mouth is taken seriously."

"I'll give you that," Wario admitted.

"So, Bowser didn't kill Mario?" I asked. "He was seen on camera during Link's shooting."

"Lucario and I can check the path he would have taken and see if it was possible for him to use," Falco suggested. "In the meantime, we can disband for the rest of the day. It doesn't seem like we'll be able to do anything else today."

I nodded. "Sounds good. We'll meet early tomorrow, before breakfast."

Wario didn't look pleased about missing breakfast, but everyone agreed to it and split up.

I was left alone in my room staring up at the ceiling.

My phone rang. I answered it. "Hello?"

"Hey. It's Ness. Am I really a…"

I sighed. "Ness. Everyone's a suspect. Please, next time don't tell Toon Link I'm working on anything. He can be loud and obnoxious."

"Yeah, he can. But I'm not a suspect because of that?"

"Of course not."

"Okay. Hey, there are group chats going on if you're interested. Not everyone's on the same chat or anything, but…"

I was interested to hear other's takes on what had happened. "What are they?"

"Okay, I don't know everyone, but right now me, Lucas, Marth, Ike, Snake, Samus, and Ash are on chat A—oh, look, Zelda and Peach just joined…"

"Wait, you're on picto-chat?" I interrupted.

"Yeah. I know for a fact that most of the villains are in chat room D… Popo and Nana are in C… That's all I know."

"I'm about to join you in A," I said, searching for my DSi. I pulled it out and flipped it on.

"Cool. Oh, look, Jigglypuff just joined…"

I hung up and logged onto chat room A, ready to question my suspects.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five: Chat**

(Note: This chapter is written in chat room style (with difficulty, I'm a stickler for grammar so chatspeak will not be used))

**Thegreenoneontheleft:** Hello?

**Psy: **Hey, Lu, glad you could make it.

**Psychic: **Yeah, glad you could join us.

**Thegreenoneontheleft:** Um… which one of you is Lucas?

**Psy:** I am. Ness stole my name.

**Psychic: **Did not!

**Psy:** Did too.

**Thegreenoneontheleft:** Save the arguing for later. Where were you during the shooting? Both of them.

**Psychic:** I was in my room during both of them.

**Psy: **I was in my room during the first one, and in the break the target challenge level three during the second one.

**Ninja42:** Before you ask, Luigi, I'm Samus, and I was in the bathroom during the first one (embarrassing much?) and in the gym during the second one.

**Thegreenoneontheleft:** Am I allowed to ask about your name?

**Ninja42: **I'm ninja.

**Thegreenoneontheleft:** The 42?

**Ninja42: **It's the answer to the ultimate question. Don't you read?

**Thegreenoneontheleft: **…

**Ninja42:** Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Reference. I don't think you read.

**Thegreenoneontheleft:** That's next on my list.

**Alteanprince: **Are you going to ask me?

**Thegreenoneontheleft:** I don't need to. You weren't on my suspect list. Neither were you, Ike.

**awIeKsEome: **Cool.

**Thegreenoneontheleft:** Snake?

**Invisible: **Why do you care?

**Thegreenoneontheleft: **Oh, I don't know… Maybe because my brother was SHOT?

**Invisible:** Right… If you must know, I was in my room, reading. The second time, I was training.

**Thegreenoneontheleft:** You do realize that if you are training you'll show up on the cameras?

**Invisible: **Of course I do. I know the location of every camera in this complex and every path to avoid them. Do you think I'd be so dangerous if I didn't?

**awIeKsEome: **Dangerous?

**Thegreenoneontheleft:** *ahem* Ash? What about you?

**I3pokemon: **In my room. Then in the event challenges.

**Thegreenoneontheleft:** Okay… *writes it down* Thanks.

**Jigglypuff: **(unintelligible scribbles)

**Alteanprince: **Use the keypad, Jiggles.

**Jigglypuff: ** (more scribbles)

**Alteanprince:** You use the buttons.

**Jigglypuff: **nbokfrlijngdewdfrfds!

**Alteanprince: **Right, no fingers, sorry.

**Ninja42:** Jiggles, try using a pencil to press the buttons.

**Jigglypuff: **tghanks sAMUDS

**Ninja42: **You hit the caps lock a second time to turn it off, and the delete key is in the upper right corner.

**Jigglypuff:** thanks. sorry. how do you capitalize/

**Ninja42: **Shift.

**awIeKsEome:** It's not as hard as it looks.

**Jigglypuff: **Shut up.

**Hylianprincess: **It's okay, Jiggles. Ike's just an idiot.

**Alteanprince:** Shot down by a princess!

**MKprincess:** Not as uncommon as you think, moron.

**Alteanprince: **That hurt me deep, Peach. That hurt me deep.

**Ninja42:** Please explain to me why that would even remotely damage your shameless flirting.

**Alteanprince:** Awk! Samus! I-!

**MKprincess: **It's not like I would ever date him, Samus. My heart belongs to Mario.

**Thegreenoneontheleft: ***sighs*

**MKprincess: **Luigi! I thought you'd left!

**Thegreenoneontheleft: **I'm about to. I just thought I'd mention that Snake is still on here, so don't expose any embarrassing personal secrets.

**Invisible:** *sighs* You had to tell them?

**I3pokemon: ***sighs* There goes my chance to ask Zelda out.

**Zelda:** {censored to keep the rating correct}

**Ninja42:** Zelda, I understand you're upset, but I think the wall needs a break.

**Thegreenoneontheleft: **Sounds painful.

**MKprincess:** Correction. Sounds loud.

*Thegreenoneontheleft leaves chat room A*

*Thegreenoneontheleft enters chat room C*

**Thegreenoneontheleft:** Hey. Who's in here?

**TOOOON:** Me, Popo, Nana, Fox, and Falco. That's it.

**Thegreenoneontheleft: **Doing any questioning, Falco?

**Birdbrainandproundofit: **No contradictions yet, sir.

**Thegreenoneontheleft: **Sir? Seriously?

**Birdbrainandproundofit: **You are kind of the leader.

**Thegreenoneontheleft:** As leader, I order you to not address me as such.

**Po:** Leader? Really?

**Thegreenoneontheleft: **Kind of, I guess. What's with the super short user name?

**Po:** Easy to type. Plus, Nana is Na, and when you put them together…

**Thegreenoneontheleft: **Po-Na?

**Po:** Get it?

**Thegreenoneontheleft: **It sounds like Link's horse?

**Po: **No, it sounds like pwn with a cool ah on the end.

**Thegreenoneontheleft:** Oh, so Link's horse's name sounds like e-pwn-a. Me-pwn-ya?

**TOOOON:** *BOL* I need to get that horse.

**Thegreenoneontheleft:** You can. Remember? Her owner died. Still, even if that does fit, the grammar is terrible.

**TOOOON: **Who cares about grammar?

**Ace:** I think you're the only one who doesn't, squirt.

**TOOOON:** Aw… you're no fun.

**Na:** *laughs* Linky, you're the party pooper here. Don't mess with our grammar-filled fun!

**TOOOON:** Linky?

**Thegreenoneontheleft: ***laughs* It suits you, Linky.

**TOOOON:** I am the hero of Hyrule! How dare you address me as Linky!

**Na: **'Cause you're so cuuuuute!

**TOOOON:** …

**Thegreenoneontheleft: **

*Thegreenoneontheleft leaves chat room C*

*Thegreenoneontheleft enters chat room D*

**Thegreenoneontheleft: **Hello.

**Awesomeness:** What are you doing here, greenface?

**Thegreenoneontheleft:** Hello, Bowser. I'm here trying to figure out who shot my brother.

**Awesomeness: **Whoever did is awesome.

**Thegreenoneontheleft:** To you, everything is awesome.

**Awesomeness:** You aren't.

**TriforceExtraordinaire: **I didn't know you were capable of such humor, Bowser. Or should I say insults? Because I suppose you do use some humor on occasion… usually poking fun at yourself.

**Awesomeness: **Hey, are you trying to make me look stupid?

**TriforceExtraordinaire: **You don't need me to make you look stupid.

**Awesomeness: **Dang straight!

**Thegreenoneontheleft: ***snickers*

**Fart: **Bowser, you are stupid.

**Thegreenoneontheleft: **True, that. Hey, Wario.

**Fart: **Hey, Luigi. I'm checking the villains out.

**Thegreenoneontheleft: **Well, as long as someone is. Get their statements and bring them tomorrow.

**Awesomeness: **We're suspects?

**Thegreenoneontheleft: **Of course you are.

**Awesomeness: **But why would I shoot Mario? Or the green squirt?

**Thegreenoneontheleft: **I thought I was the green squirt… "Whoever did [shoot Mario] is awesome."

**Awesomeness: **I didn't say that!

**Thegreenoneontheleft: **You sent it into this chat a few minutes ago.

**Awesomeness: **…Oh. So I did.

**Thegreenoneontheleft:** Every second I spend chatting with you decreases my intelligence. I'm starting to wonder if you even have the brain capacity to shoot someone… Or small enough fingers.

**Awesomeness: **Huh?

**Fart: **I'm having a great time just listening/reading this.

**Thegreenoneontheleft: **Well, I guess I'll be going then.

**IH8FOX: **Good.

**Thegreenoneontheleft: **Jerk.

*Thegreenoneontheleft leaves chat room D*


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six: Musings**

I woke up to a loud shot.

"Not again…" I cursed, jumping to my feet and running towards the scene in my pajamas.

The halls were filled with other brawlers, heading in the same direction as me.

The police were already there, looking sorrowfully at the form beneath a white sheet. I pushed through the shouting mass of on lookers.

"What happened?" I cried. "Who?"

"Fox," one of them answered. "Shot. He's dead."

Dead? Another one?

I moaned, massaging my temples. "Okay, I'm going to need a list of everyone—"

"Everyone else was in their rooms," the police officer answered.

My eyes swept the scene, searching for a clue. The window was open, like it had been when Mario was…

"Then I need a list of everyone who has a window in their room," I said.

The officer nodded. "I'll pass your message on."

"And let's see if we can't get some sort of buddy system going," I added. "That way, at least someone has to see the killer."

I turned to the crowd, my eyes searching for the rest of my detective group. I noticed Zelda.

"Zelda!" She turned, seeing me. "Tell the others to meet in my room ASAP! I'm going to get yesterday's notes!" She nodded and disappeared behind a cross Marth.

I searched out the chief. "Excuse me, but do you have that list?"

"Don't know what you can do with it, but…" he handed me a list of names.

"We can cross reference it with the people who could have shot both Fox and Mario," I explained, scanning the list. "Thank you."

I ran back to my room.

Peach, Lucario, and Falco were already there.

"Where are the others?" I asked.

"Wario's a heavy sleeper," Peach answered, alert despite the early hour. She looked cute in her light pink pajamas. "Zelda just went to wake him up."

There was a knock at the door before Zelda slammed it open and dragged a half-asleep Wario in.

"I'm up, I'm up," he growled.

"No, you're not," Zelda snapped, pushing him into the nearest chair. "You got the list, Luigi?"

"I did," I answered, digging through the police file for Mario's case to find the list of suspects. "Okay… Ganondorf… no, he's not on here… Hm… the only one on both lists is…" I trailed off. This wasn't who I thought it would be. "Lucas."

"But that matches his story," Peach protested, sticking up for the little kid. "Remember? He was in his room."

_And it does look as though Bowser shot Mario_, Lucario put in. _Falco and I found a footprint on the other side of the non-human changing room's window. It looks like he did step outside._

"I didn't say I liked it," I snapped angrily. I liked Lucas! He wouldn't shoot anyone, would he? "That's just what's on the list."

"Don't blame Luigi," Falco agreed. "He's taking his brother's death hard."

"And I suppose I'm not taking Link's death hard, or Peach isn't taking Mario's death hard," Zelda snapped. "You seem to be the only one not caring about a close friend's death."

Falco fixed his hard gaze on her. "I understand that death happens. I can't say that I'm pleased it happened to Fox, but it did. Crying won't change that."

"HEARTLESS!" Zelda shouted.

"Knock it off, both of you!" Peach cried. "We're all grieving, and even though it looks bad, that doesn't mean Lucas did it! We need someone to check if his room has a window!"

A smile crept onto my lips. "I think I know the best person we have when it comes to stealth."

"Falco?" Wario asked. "Surely not you."

I shook my head. "For this, we need Sheik."

Zelda's mouth fell open, but she quickly closed it. "No way."

"Sheik is fast and stealthy," I explained. "We don't care about you staying out of the ways of the cameras…"

"Snake would be better," Zelda answered firmly, unwilling to transform into her alter-ego off the battlefield.

"Snake? Can we trust him?" Falco asked.

"I think we can," I responded, flipping out my cell phone. "Let me give him a call."

xXx

"No."

"Oh, come on!" I begged. "We really need to know! All you have to do is get a quick look when Lucas isn't there!"

"If it's so simple, why can't you do it?" he asked.

"Please?"

"No."

I sighed. If Snake was unwilling to help us, our only course of action was to get Sheik to do it.

"Thanks for being so open minded," I told him, hanging up. I shook my head before facing the other brawlers. "He won't do it," I announced.

There was a collective sigh.

"That leaves Sheik," Falco muttered.

"No!" Zelda cried again. "I… I couldn't possibly…"

"For Link?" Peach asked quietly, taking Zelda's hand.

Zelda sighed. "Fine. But I'm not transforming in front of everyone."

xXx

Well, since we were all okay with her ultimatum, we stood outside my room while Zelda transformed.

But after ten minutes, we were getting antsy. Would someone guess what we were up to?

Lucario tapped nervously on the door. _Are you alright in there_?

"Just give me a minute!" came the snapping voice, slightly deeper than Zelda's usual one. After another five minutes, the voice came again. "Okay. Come in."

I easily opened the door. Sheik was standing there, and I suddenly realized why it had taken Zelda so much longer to transform than it did on stage: Sheik was wearing a light green polo and a pair of khaki pants belonging to me.

"What are you doing in my clothes?" I demanded.

Sheik just snorted. "Oh, right, like you expect me to do this in a _dress_. Not happening."

I frowned. "Wait, but in the brawls, when Zelda transforms—."

"End of conversation. Let's get this over with."

Sheik took a deep breath before moving silently into the hallway with bare feet.

I sank onto my bed, trying to calm my nerves. What if something went wrong? What if Sheik was caught? What if the killer made another move? What if…

But I wasn't supposed to be thinking about those things.

"You okay?" Peach asked me.

"Yeah," I lied. "Hey, does anyone know if Sheik is supposed to be male or female?"

There was a long silence while everyone stared at me. I just shrugged. "Hey, it's something to think about, isn't it?"

"I _think_ she's female," Peach offered awkwardly. "But I've never really asked."

"Female," Wario answered. "She was dating Marth for a bit last year."

"Yeah, but who can really tell with _Martha_?" Falco pointed out. Wario snorted.

Well, that answered one question on my mind. I'd never really been able to tell, and had always been too terrified of Sheik to ask. Except now I had just tried to get her to do something. That had to count for something, right? Maybe I was "getting a backbone". Mario would be proud. The thought cheered me slightly.

We sat there in silence for another ten minutes.

"Do you think she's okay?" Peach asked nervously.

"I hope so," I answered. "Hey, you said Sheik was dating Marth?"

Wario nodded.

"But if Zelda hates turning into Sheik…"

"Zelda really stopped doing it last year," Wario answered. "I think it had something to do with the fact that she and Zelda were the same person, but were both dating different guys, so Marth and Link's relationship got a little strained…"

"As in, worse than usual?" I pointed out.

"When they're periodically brawling in the halls, yeah, I'd say it's worse than usual," Peach put in.

How on earth had I missed that? Brawling off the sets or stadium was illegal, but it would have been awesome to see.

Oh well…

"That explains a lot," I muttered, finally standing and beginning to pace the room impatiently. "How much longer is she going to take?"

No sooner had I said this than the door burst open and Sheik rushed inside and shut it as quietly as possible.

"So…" I began.

"No window," she reported.

I sighed. There went my theory.

But wait a second…

"That's impossible!" I cried. "How-."

"But, there is a window in _Wolf's_ room."

"Wolf isn't on the list," I answered. "So it can't be…"

"Right, I'd forgotten."

If she'd gone to check on Wolf's room, that explained why she'd taken so long. I continued my pacing. Nothing made sense.

Why…

Unless…

As I thought about it, everything fell into place.

"My dream!" I gasped. "The person who wanted Mario dead!"

Everyone stared at me, and I realized that I hadn't told anyone about the dream I'd had. That was where the voice had to have tampered with my aura…

Why hadn't I seen it before? It was painstakingly obvious.

"Everyone dead had an arch nemesis!" I cried. "Remember how it looked like Bowser had shot Mario? He did! And Ganondorf killed Link, and Wolf killed Fox!"

"Why?" Falco asked, completely lost.

Why?

Okay, so I'd hit a little snag. I honestly had no clue as to why.

Except… "The voice told them to!"

"Voice? Luigi, are you feeling okay?" Peach moved closer to feel my forehead.

I shook her off.

"The day I had my aura tampered with… That night, I'd had a dream. This voice wanted me to kill Mario… After a discussion, I refused. He told me that it was too bad, because I was the perfect person to do it. There was some pain after that, and I woke up… But what if it wasn't a dream?"

Now everyone was staring at me, hanging on my every word.

_I was on the lookout for people who'd had their aura tampered with…_ Lucario mused. _If this person really wanted Mario dead, he'd have to find someone who'd do it without question._

"And he picked Bowser," I agreed. "The obvious choice, really. But Bowser was going to be arrested when we started putting the pieces together."

"…So he got Ganondorf to kill Link!" Sheik realized.

"Exactly! But, even then, Lucas could have done it, and he wanted it to seem impossible. So he lured Fox out of bed early…"

"…And got Wolf to shoot him," Falco finished.

"And he created the impossible crime! No one could have done it!" Peach cried. "But who would want to?"

Everyone looked at me expectantly. "I… I knew the voice, but I couldn't place it," I admitted. "I'd heard it before, but I couldn't figure out where."

"So… we know someone at Brawl had a reason to kill Mario, Link, and Fox," Sheik muttered. "We just don't know who."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven: Taking Action**

"…And so now we have no clue who did it, just that those three villains sure as heck weren't the mastermind."

Maya had listened to my string of conclusions quietly, but now she spoke up. "If you know the voice, maybe you just have to try and remember it."

I sighed. "I just can't. It's annoying. I know I know it, but…"

She smiled sympathetically. "It's okay. I know you'll solve it."

Somehow, this made me feel better. I glanced suddenly up at the clock on the wall. "Oh, crap, I've got to go. We're starting to film 'The Great Maze' today, and I can't be late."

"Hey, be sure to finish your part before dinner, okay?"

I frowned. "Why?"

"Because there's something going on at dinner. A big party type thing, okay?"

I nodded. "I'll finish as soon as I can," I promised.

xXx

I wondered what exactly was going on all through the filming. I hardly heard the commands—just did them.

"We can do this!" Ness assured me, psychic energy gathering at his fingers.

The directors were only filming the parts that Link, Mario, and Fox weren't in so that they could rewrite the script later. As they were some of the biggest characters (particularly Mario) there wasn't a whole lot that could be filmed, but they could still film several of the battles against the 'Shadow Smashers', as they'd been dubbed.

Still, it was highly unnerving to be looking down a shadow version of one's brother, even more so when said brother had recently been killed.

_"Keep going, Luigi. You have to fight this. Just defeat the shadow."_

I swallowed nervously. I could do this.

While I was still convincing myself of this fact, the shadow creature rushed at us.

"PK Fire!" Ness shouted, sending a flash of flame at it, but my brot—the creature had already flipped over head, aiming for me.

I dropped to the ground and rolled out of the way.

That had been the perfect opportunity for a Super Jump Punch, I realized with chagrin. The attack caused a lot of damage. Why hadn't I…

Ness, however, took the overhead as an opportunity for a particularly damaging attack. "PK Flash!" he cried, aiming a blue-green ball of energy at the shadow.

I heard the shadow give a gasp of surprise. Did the shot hurt it? I knew from experience that the attack was painful.

But I still had to attack it, didn't I?

As it touched the ground, I sent several fireballs soaring in its direction.

"Good shot!" Ness congratulated me as they hit their target.

I attempted a smile, but it came out more as a grimace.

Why was I doing this?

The shadow leapt at me, and this time I did my Super Jump Punch at the right moment. The black form let out an inhuman shriek as the force of my blow sent it into the air.

I shuddered. It sounded…

I shook my head, trying to clear the thoughts from my head.

The next moments happened in slow motion.

I saw the shadow of my brother, _my brother_, coming dangerously close to the edge. Ness sprinted up to him, already pulling out a baseball bat…

_I couldn't let him kill my brother._

My hand was already shooting forward before I had consciously realized this fact, the fireball forming, launching from my grip, passing Ness, and hitting the shadow.

It sent him backwards again, hurting him a lot less than the bat would have.

Ness looked shocked, but went with it.

"PK Thunder!" he shouted, releasing a blue-violet ball of energy at the shadow.

Again, I was moving before I realized, jumping at Ness…

He had to lose control of that blast…

I made contact with the boy, knocking him down from behind…

Ness let out a cry as everything sped up again. Both of us went flying off the edge of the platform, landing on the well placed net below.

Shadow Mario had fallen too, and was lying a ways away from us.

Ness immediately pulled himself up as a voice shouted "_Cut!"_ in our ears.

"What was that for?" he demanded.

I slowly stood up, trembling. "I… I couldn't… I just… couldn't…"

He moaned. "We're going to have to re film!" He looked really annoyed at this prospect.

"I'm sorry…" I sighed.

The Mario copy hadn't moved.

"THAT WAS BRILLIANT!"

Ness and I both spun around (difficult to do when in a net, by the way). I, being the extremely coordinated and not-clumsy-at-the-most-inappropriate-times person that I am fell flat on my face.

The director was running over to us, a huge grin on his face. "You guys went off the edge! We can use that! Not only did you fall, but you took the Shadow Smasher with you! Brilliant!"

I stared at him, not daring to move.

After a long pause, Ness spoke. "Seriously?"

"Of course! We can use you two at the end! Just when it seems Tabuu will win, you two can come in and save the day!"

Something seemed off, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

"That seems clichéd," I said.

The director just chuckled. "So it is."

Ness grinned as we removed our ear pieces and handed them over.

Now I could go back to my room before dinner… No, wait, _our_ room… After the third murder, a buddy system had been organized. Everyone in the detective group had been paired with another in the group…

Of course, Zelda and Peach had been paired together. (No-brainer)

Lucario had paired with Falco, as they were both non-humans. (Easier in the changing rooms)

That left me to pair with Wario.

Allow to emphasize that.

I was paired with Wario.

And we were staying in my room. And I knew for a fact that I was never going to get those stains out of the ceiling.

…Yeah… You don't even want to know. Wario may have been funny and alright to hang out with once in a while, but he was also the most disgusting human being on the planet (and several others, besides) and I had been forced to clear the room more than once already when he "let one rip".

The sooner this was over, the better.

Wario was standing off to the side, near Lucas, who was waiting for Ness. I sighed as we were dismissed and made my way over to him.

"There's a discussion going on on picto-chat," Lucas told me as I walked past.

"Thanks for the heads up." There was something I wanted to check, anyhow.

Wario and I were silent on the way to my-our room: we'd had to leave Ness and Lucas behind, as Lucas was needed for the next segment of filming. As soon as we reached it, I pulled out my DSi and logged on to picto-chat. After hoping people were in the same chat rooms as before, I cautiously entered chat room D.

xXx

**Thegreenoneontheleft:** Hey.

**Awesomeness: **Good evening, squirt. To what do we owe this pleasure?

**Thegreenoneontheleft:** I'm impressed. You actually managed to spell all the words right.

**TriforceExtraordinaire: **Actually, I had to help him with that.

**Thegreenoneontheleft:** Wolf? Are you here too?

**IH8FOX:** Who wants to know?

**Thegreenoneontheleft:** My user name isn't obvious enough? Anyone else here?

**TriforceExtraordinaire: **No.

**Thegreenoneontheleft: **Good. Because I know you three killed Mario, Link, and Fox.

**Thegreenoneontheleft: **Hello?

*IH8FOX leaves chat room D*

**Thegreenoneontheleft: **Well, that's just great. I wanted to know who the mastermind behind it all was. I know someone wanted you guys to kill Mario and Link. Who was it?

**Awesomeness:** Whoever he was, he was AWESOME!

**Thegreenoneontheleft: **…I'm sure. I know it's someone you know, I just need a name.

**TriforceExtraordinaire: **Well, I don't know a _name…_

**Thegreenoneontheleft: **But you know who it is?

**TriforceExtraordinaire: **Of course I do. So do you.

**Thegreenoneontheleft:** I do?

**TriforceExtraordinaire: **If you don't recognize it, you're an idiot. It's a freaking disembodied voice, what's so hard to recognize?

**TriforceExtraordinaire: **Luigi?

**Awesomeness: ***dances* I think the squirt's gone…

**TriforceExtraordinaire: **…Luigi?

*Fart enters chat room D*

**Fart: **Hey, what'd you say to Luigi? I think he fainted.

**Awesomeness: ***laughs* No kidding?

**TriforceExtraordinaire: **Hm…

**Fart: **What'd you say?

**TriforceExtraordinaire: **I'd suspect he's just solved the case. I suggest you try and wake him.

**Fart: **Seriously? Awesome!

**Awesomeness: **…

*Awesomeness leaves chat room D*

*Fart leaves chat room D*

**TriforceExtraordinaire: **…. …

**TriforceExtraordinaire: **(flowers)


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight: Well, That Just Didn't Make Any Sense**

I had passed out. There was only one thing going through my mind:

"A disembodied voice".

What was that supposed to mean?

And then it hit me.

_"That seems clichéd."_

_ "So it is."_

I wanted to face palm. There was just the little issue of being unconscious…

But that was solved when _someone_ poured a bucket of water over my face. I once again was reminded of the dozen of reasons I hated my new roommate. Sure, I had smelling salts in the top drawer of my dresser which I generally use when I'm paralyzed with fright, but nooo… He had to go for the stupid water one.

I sat up with a sharp gasp and immediately took the opportunity to face palm. "I'm such an idiot!" I shouted. "I know who the killer is!"

Wario rolled his eyes. "You don't say."

I glanced up in surprise. "You figured it out too?"

"No, but Ganondorf guessed that you'd figured it out."

I grinned and glanced I my DSi screen. Then I gasped. "Is he… drawing flowers?"

Wario smirked and grabbed my game system. "Excuse me while I send copies of these to all the other smashers…"

"Hey, as long as you're doing that, tell the others to meet me at the set."

"Sure."

With that, I sprinted out of my room and ran for the set.

Ness was standing off to the side, and motioned for me to come over. I moved to stand next to him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I solved the case," I whispered.

His eyes widened. "That explains why Wario isn't here. Are you here to confront him? Who is it?"

Before I could answer, Toon Link and Popo burst through the doors.

"LUIGI!"

Toon Link was whisper-shouting, having realized that the director wouldn't take to kindly to being interrupted in the middle of filming.

"Hey, Linky," I said with a grin. "I solved it."

"Linky? Oh, right…"

"Who is it?" Popo asked eagerly.

I grinned. "It's—."

"Hey, why am I here?"

I broke off when Marth interrupted. Ike was behind him.

"The mystery has been solved!" I announced happily. "And, since I can't seem to tell anyone who the killer is without getting interrupted, I'll explain when everyone arrives!"

There was a collective sigh, along with an annoyed "Seriously?" from Ike.

"It's called suspense. Shut up," Marth said, defending me.

"But what if the killer decides to shoot him while we're standing here?" Ike demanded. "Then he's just being stupid."

"The killer's not going to shoot him while we're all standing here," Marth pointed out.

"He would if his only escape is silencing Luigi forever," Popo put in.

"Okay, I think that's enough creating my grisly death," I interrupted.

"But it wouldn't be grisly!" Toon Link protested. "It'd be short and sweet! One shot."

"ENOUGH."

There were several grumbles, but everyone quieted down.

"But you are going to tell us?" Ness asked.

"When everyone arrives, yes," I answered. This was getting annoying. Where was everyone else?

Were they even coming?

I sighed, pulling out my cell phone. I dialed a number. The person on the other end picked up.

"Hello?" Then said person broke into loud guffaws.

"I thought I'd told you to tell everyone to get down here!"

Wario struggled to control his laughter. "Well, the thing is, I did tell them. But a lot of them are still on picto-chat laughing at Ganondorf's drawings and teasing him."

I was being upstaged by crudely drawn flowers? "You've got to be kidding me."

"Nope. Did you know if you scan through the pictures quickly, it looks like the flower is growing and then wilting? I never knew Ganondorf was artistic."

"I have just solved Mario's murder, and everyone is too busy laughing at Ganondorf's artistic abilities to care?"

"Ganondorf's drawing?" Marth asked eagerly.

"This, I have to see," Ike mused.

I moaned, trying to focus on Wario's voice.

"So, we're all dying of laughter over here—."

I snapped. "I don't care what you're doing, get them all over here before we have to arrest you for the deaths of several people!"

"What?"

"You would have caused the deaths of several people by asphyxiation!"

I could almost see Wario rolling his eyes. "Are you sure you've solved it?"

"Of course I'm sure! For your information, the killer is—."

Something hit me in the back, and everything went black.

xXx

For a while I was living in a half dream state.

Voices drifted through my mind.

_"Luigi? Luigi, wake up!"_

_"Come on, you can't be dead!"_

_ "Luigi…"_

So I was… dead? I had been… killed?

It was strange. I had a few regrets, but not many.

One of the most obvious was that I'd never make it to Maya's "special dinner".

xXx

"Is he okay? He looks pale."

"I'm sure he's fine. He'll be up any second now."

I dragged my eyes open. I was in a white room, with bright lights. I glanced down realizing that I was in a plain white outfit.

The two people who'd been talking had disappeared.

…So, was this what being dead was like? I stood up and walked around for a few seconds, trying to get myself moving. Funny… being dead wasn't that different from being alive.

The sound of laughter reached my ears.

I followed the sound out the door and down the hall.

…That was funny. This place seemed to mirror the brawl complex. I would have thought that since I was from the Mushroom Kingdom, I would have gone to a place like that after my death.

I was strangely calm about all of this.

The laughter was coming from the dining room. I stepped in to see…

"Alright, you're right. Rewind."

Link hit a button on the remote he was holding, causing the television to rewind and replay what they were watching.

And I got to watch my death in slow motion.

Mario burst out laughing, as did Link and Fox. They were the only ones there.

But that made sense, right?

After a second, I got what was so funny. If you were watching it like that, the shot in the back and falling over did seem ridiculously over the top, didn't it?

…They had a video of it?

"Again!" Mario laughed.

"Are you guys done joking about my death?" I asked, grinning. It WAS nice to put it in a joking light.

Mario, Link, and Fox all spun around.

"Luigi! Good to see you!" Mario was grinning. He gestured at the T.V. screen. "We were just watching your 'death', as you may have seen."

"It was a heck of a lot more convincing than mine," Fox told me.

I stared. "Wait, so we're not dead?"

"You didn't know?" Link asked incredulously. "It's the next big thing! The director was all excited about it: a T.V. show/murder mystery for the audiences to work out on their own. He talked to us about it right away, because we'd be 'killed' right away."

"I don't think he's told anyone else about it," I murmured. "I don't think he counted on me wanting to help solve it as much as I did. Or me solving it in the first place. I think he just wanted everything portrayed accurately: the grief right, the anger right… And then he decided to take me out because I did solve it."

"Makes sense," Fox put in, before gesturing to the television. "Hey, you did a great job building up to the death scene, though. It's a wonder it wasn't scripted. You know, I think that would be a great way to end season one."

"It would make the fans eager for season two," I mused.

"We should mention that to the director," Mario said cheerfully before he checked a white watch on his wrist. "Oh, look. Dinner time."

I glanced behind me to see a few of the chefs setting up several dishes.

Maya was one of them. She grinned at me. "Good to see you, Luigi."

My mouth fell open. "This is the 'party' thing you were telling me about?" I demanded. "You _knew_?"

"I'm sorry I couldn't tell you. I was sworn to secrecy." She looked sincerely apologetic.

She had known?

"But… but you…"

She gave me a sorrowful half smile. "Hey, can I make it up to you?"

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

She grinned. "The director was talking about another plot-twist type thing. We were thinking: ghosts."

I blinked. "Please continue."

Link pumped his fist in the air. "Yes! He agreed!"

"What?"

"We asked him about this. I can't WAIT to see Marth's face!"

Mario was grinning too. "I knew we were getting dinner early."

Maya gave him a devilish grin. "Right, so you three have already found the secret entrances. Show Luigi a few of them, get him a cloaking device, and be ready to make your first appearance at dinner."

"Yes!" Link cheered again.

The four of us got food and sat down, excitedly preparing for the prank to come.

"So, if you weren't told to fall down at a certain time, how did you know when to collapse?" Fox asked me.

"…I think they probably shot me with a dart," I mused. "Maybe I was carried to the infirmary, where they discovered the dart was poisoned, and snuck me out afterwards, claiming I had died."

"To be honest, we just kept re-watching you getting shot," Fox admitted. "So we don't really know."

"How can you keep hiding from Lucario?" I wondered.

"Oh, Lucario's in on it to," Link explained quickly. "It was the one who did that weird aura thing to you—don't blame it, the director made it."

I nodded, finally understanding. "So I was supposed to kill Mario during the brawl?"

"Yeah, but the shooting thing was better. Much… more creepy."

I thought for a second. "Hey, about the prank tonight."

"Yeah?" Mario asked.

"I have the perfect idea."

xXx

I took a deep breath, fiddling with the cloaking device on my chest. It had been developed for the brawls where everyone was invisible. It wasn't used often, so it was unlikely that the thought of them being used would cross anyone's mind.

The can was at my side, the communicator in place.

I was ready, in position.

I flipped my communicator to the appropriate channel. "I'm ready for the first phase."

_"Okay, Luigi,"_ Mario said. _"Let's-a go!"_

I rolled my eyes at my brother's famed phrase, but as Maya opened the door to the kitchen, Link and I slipped out behind her, into the Smashers' dining room.

Perfect.

_"Initiating stage two_,_"_ Fox whispered in my ear piece.

Link headed directly for the light switches as I made my way to the huge T.V. screen, which was, as usual, showing a game show.

I could hear Toon Link shouting out answers.

I grinned, clutching the can in my hand as Link made the lights flicker once.

There was a collective gasp among the smashers. I smirked at this, watching their shocked faces as they tried to comprehend why this was happening; after all, it wasn't raining.

_"Mario…"_

There was a curse over the communicator as my brother struggled to pull the correct cord for the television.

_"Now!"_

The lights flickered again as the television signal went out.

The static was loud at first, but Fox, who was in charge of the volume, quickly turned it down.

_"Stage three…"_ he hissed.

The lights went out.

I started to move, quickly, before our count was done. Mario had pulled the power cord to the T.V. this time, leaving us in total blackness.

But I knew where everything was: I couldn't mess this up.

My hand came up, moving the can quickly and precisely. I went over the shape in my head.

_"Mario…"_

Just as I finished, I untied the thin string we were using, hoisting myself up in front of the television screen and turning off the cloaking device.

At that moment, the screen came to life again, still static.

I couldn't hold back a small grin. All they would see were the silhouettes on the screen.

Me, right next to the big shadow of the blood red flower I'd painted.

I didn't need Fox's voice to tell me what to do, I had this perfected. Without making it appear as though I had moved, I switched my communicator to the appropriate channel and spoke in a dark, scary voice.

My voice echoed throughout the entire facility over the loud speakers.

_"I will not be upstaged by an artistic warlock."_

Then I switched the communicator off, turned the cloaking device on, severed the thin string holding me up, and, as the lights switched on, ran for my life.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine: Results**

I slipped through the halls silently.

Occasionally, a staff member would be walking by, and I'd have to duck quickly to the side to avoid brushing up against them.

Link wasn't around. Maybe he'd stayed a bit longer to watch the reactions of the smashers.

I sighed. Maybe I should have stuck around. I wanted to see them…

Oh, well. They'd have recorded _that._

It was going fine until I ran into someone that wasn't there.

I cursed, flipping my communicator back to the appropriate channel. "Who?"

"Ow…" moaned a voice, both next to me and over the communicator. It was Mario.

"Shh!" I hissed, hearing voices. Someone was coming.

I heard Mario scramble to his feet and _flip his cloaking device off._

"What are you…" I began before realizing several things. First, he had the cloaking device hidden under his clothes. Second, he was wearing his brawl clothes, red hat and all. Third, he had taken some kind of powder and sprinkled it over himself so he looked pale.

Ghost-like.

Oh…

_"Get out of here,"_ he whispered quietly. I noticed he held the controls for the cloaking device concealed in his hand, though I would have if I hadn't been looking for it.

But I wasn't leaving. I had missed the reaction in the dining room, and I wasn't missing this one too.

I sat quietly in the corner as Mario scrambled to pull himself on top of the climbing apparatus. He just crossed his legs and sat there with his eyes closed.

Several people burst into the room and slammed the door shut. I saw Bowser, Marth, Zelda, Peach, Samus, Snake, and Ash.

Hm… If Bowser was there, Mario could really have some fun…

"Was… was that a ghost?" Zelda gasped, backing away from the door. Oh, if only she knew I was here…

Even Snake looked slightly pale. "I… I'm not sure."

Ash began to turn away from the door. "Maybe we should stick in here for a bit. I've got no clue how to deal with ghosts…"

"Luigi would," Peach said quietly. "He cleared a mansion of them once."

I had, hadn't I? Of course, those were real ghosts, and I'd been terrified the entire time—but let them believe what they liked.

Ash noticed Mario and froze. I grinned. Mario hadn't moved, staying still on the top of the climbing apparatus and staying silent.

Ash seemed to be trying unsuccessfully to speak.

This was going to be more entertaining than I'd thought.

"We should pass the time somehow," Marth said, trying to cheer the others up. "Does anyone want to train—Ash? What are you staring at?"

Ash tried unsuccessfully to speak again as the others followed his gaze, finally seeing Mario.

Mario still didn't move.

"Mario?" Peach whispered, taking a step towards the climbing apparatus. When he still didn't move, she ran to the base and began climbing towards him.

Mario's eyes snapped open.

Oh, this was going to be amusing.

He immediately focused on Bowser, coming to the same conclusion that I had. With a cry, he leapt to his feet and sent a fireball hurdling at his enemy.

Bowser gasped and jumped away from the door. Luckily, someone with foresight had installed flame-proof doors in the training room, so it just fizzled out.

"That's impossible!" Marth gasped, awed.

I smirked. Maybe I could freak them out a bit without being too obvious. I would have to stay invisible.

Mario disappeared.

Zelda let out a little shriek.

"…Is he gone?" Ash whispered.

"I doubt it," Samus muttered, grabbing a blaster from the nearest rack. Indeed, Mario materialized again on the ground a second later.

Once again, he fired a fireball, once again, Bowser just barely dodged it.

I grinned. Mario was a "ghost". And ghosts could do things…

I stood up, hissing into my microphone. "Fox, Link, where are you?"

_"Checking out the pandemonium! This is awesome! Did you SEE Marth's face?"_

_ "I'm back at our rendezvous point. Where are you guys?"_

"See if you can't sneak into the training room. Hey, Mario, can ghosts use telekinesis?"

I could almost see Mario grin as he disappeared again. _"This one can."_

"Right," I muttered, looking around. What could I use? "Alright, I'll grab the target over here," I told him, sprinting over to the firing range. "On the count of three, then raise for three, then hold for three, then throw."

_"Right."_ Mario appeared several feet away from me.

"One…"

Mario dramatically pointed to the thin wooden target.

"Two…"

He seemed to struggle for a second.

"Three…"

I made the target start to shake.

"One…"

Mario began to raise his arm as I began to lift the target, making it shake slightly.

"Two…"

We raised it higher.

"Three…"

It stopped as he held his finger out, still pointing at the target.

"One…"

He continued to hold his finger out.

"Two…"

I slowly began to make the target revolve, shocking all viewers.

"Three…"

The target froze in a horizontal position.

"Now!" I hissed, and Mario moved his hand forward as I threw the target, aiming precisely for Bowser. It hit the Koopa King squarely, sending him flying backwards. Mario disappeared again, and I moved. "Next thing?"

_"Hey, we just snuck in from the one-way mirror—WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?"_

I didn't answer Fox's angry question, focusing instead on the fact that Samus was trying to shoot Mario, and, because he had disappeared, everything in sight.

And, just our luck, Snake had joined in.

_"I'm wearing a bullet proof vest,"_ Mario told us. _"How about you?"_

I wasn't. Neither were the others. But that was okay, because Mario was the one that they were shooting at.

"Let's just start throwing things at them," I suggested. "They'll think it's Mario.

_"Great idea!" _Mario enthused.

_"I'm not so sure…"_ Fox began.

_"Sounds good to me,"_ Link argued.

_"Exactly."_

Fox went with it anyways.

"At the same time!" I whispered. "On the count of three! Aim for Bowser!"

_"But he's not shooting at us…"_

_ "He's the one Mario would want to hit,"_ Link told Fox crossly.

We each made a beeline for different objects in the room.

"One!" I whispered, reaching the laser I had been running for.

_"Two!"_ Fox murmured as I began to lift the object into the air.

_"Three!"_ Mario hissed as I reached my chest and prepared to throw.

_"Now!"_ Link ordered, and we all flung our objects at Bowser, each hitting dead on.

Amid the flying things everywhere, we found the chance to slip behind the one-way mirror and into the safety of the hidden training room.

Immediately, we pulled off the cloaking devices.

"THAT WAS AWESOME!" Link cried, pumping his fist. I winced. He hadn't turned off his communicator, and was now screaming in each of our ears.

"Link. Turn it off."

Link blushed, quickly apologizing as we removed the devices from our ears.

"Hey, how did you do that with your cloaking device?" I asked Mario. He grinned proudly before showing us all how he'd run wires from the device down his arm (inside his sleeve) and hidden the on-off button in his glove.

It was actually pretty cool.

"I'm so using that for Halloween," Link told him. "Did you see Marth's face?"

"I only saw him when he realized that Mario's ghost was in the same room as him," I chuckled. "How freaked was he?"

"It was pretty awesome," Link informed us. "He'd been there when you 'died', so he understood what you were talking about, and why you were so upset."

"Now we just need to plan your appearances," I laughed.

Link grinned. "About that. I think I have an idea…"

xXx

"You are insane."

"This is going to be awesome," Link laughed.

Fox shook his head again. "Why on earth…"

"Are you going to tell me it doesn't sound like something I'd do? Cause I have to disagree with you on that…"

"No," Fox managed. "It sounds exactly like you. You are an evil person when it comes to pranks. Hence…"

I was siding with Fox on this matter, but I knew that Link would go ahead with or without our help. "Fox, he's doing it either way."

Fox sighed, knowing I was right. "Alright. But let's go over the plan one more time."

xXx

The next night was the night of the dance. Said dance occurred once a year, so there was no way that it was getting cancelled.

Instead, they'd changed it so attendance was mandatory. That way, no one could get shot.

So, on the correct night, all four of us had dressed in white, white versions of our usual brawl clothing. The cloaking devices had been altered like Mario's, and we were ready to have fun.

The dance was held in the ballroom. The ballroom was an exceedingly lavish room with huge windows overlooking the sea, (yes, the complex had been built next to the sea, so if someone needed to recover after a particularly bad brawl, they'd already have their 'sea air',) elegant red and gold drapes, tables to one side covered in silk table cloths, and a huge and beautiful chandelier.

However, since we'd seen it fit to tip off the director to our plan for the night, the diamond chandelier had been replaced with a cheap glass replica.

I'm sure you can already guess what Link's genius idea was.

Link had been up on the chandelier since the doors had opened a few hours ago.

I checked my watch before realizing that I was invisible and couldn't see it.

I almost sneezed, catching myself at the last minute.

Dang it. This powder may have completed the look, but it tickled my nose. It took all my self control to not start scratching like crazy.

But it was close to the time to start, right?

I took a step from where I was pressed against the wall, moving in between the dancers.

Zelda and Ike twirled past me, though Zelda looked slightly upset. I wasn't, as I could see Ike's watch on his hand. Oh, good, I was right on time.

I flipped the cloaking device off, not breaking stride. I just had to keep going until.

There was a scream. Toon Link, ahead of me, spun around and ran at me.

Perfect. I flipped the device on and ran ahead. I couldn't let anyone touch me…

I got away from the panic in time, but was still close enough to hear the argument.

"It was Luigi, I swear it! I saw him!" Zelda was visibly upset.

"I saw him too," Toon Link piped up. "But he just disappeared!"

Unease spread through the crowd like wildfire. I grinned. Link was right, this WAS kind of fun…

I pushed up against the wall, waiting. Twenty minutes passed. The crowd was calming back down, starting once again to dance.

And then…

Another shriek.

"It was Mario, I know it!" Peach insisted. "I SAW him!"

"He was here!" Nana cried. "Mario's ghost!"

A few others had seen Mario, a few more than me. My stomach twisted with jealousy again before I realized that of course more people would see him. He was the second one out: more people would be looking.

It took a much longer time for the crowd to calm down, but eventually they did, chalking the ghost sightings up to hallucinations.

And then…

"FOX!"

This time, Falco raised the shout.

But he was the only one to see Fox. Fox had pressed the button a little too quickly. Most people would suspect Falco had only seen his friend from the power of suggestion. Oh well…

The next part was coming up in our three stage plan. But we had to be patient. Maya said it wouldn't be too long…

And there. Maya came out of the kitchen with another chef, struggling to carry a massive cake between them. I gasped. It was a beautiful white cake, and a tradition for the dances carrying back to when the first smashers had arrived. The cooks would make thin lines of alcohol on the cake, and light it on fire in front of everyone. Only the lines would burn, and not for very long, and when they went out, they left lines criss-crossing the cake.

It was always beautiful.

They brought the cake to one of the tables, and several people broke off from the crowd to get a good view when they lit it.

And then, right on cue, Link moved.

He'd been waiting for a while. He shifted his weight smoothly, forcing the chandelier to sway, gently at first, but quickly more violently. As everyone looked up, Link flipped off his device, grinning broadly.

Marth's face, his mouth wide open in shock and disbelief, was priceless.

Link laughed loudly, and it echoed around the otherwise silent room. Still grinning, he spun around and broke the chain. Then he disappeared.

The chandelier crashed into the ground as everyone pulled back, confused by the sudden lack of light.

But that was where I came in for the third part.

Within a moment, everyone was looking at the single light in the room: the cake, which I had secretly lit. Everyone gasped, pulling back, knowing only I could have lit it.

Because, instead of the usual flames racing along the cake, there were _my_ flames. Flames only I could conjure.

I slipped away, hiding in a forgotten corner of the room as everyone stared at the bright green flames running along the cake.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten: The End**

We got back to our dining room late that night, laughing at how well it had went. Link was the last to arrive, as he'd had to cut himself down from the ceiling. He'd hung there from a thin rope: the only reason he hadn't fallen with the chandelier.

That had been fun.

And then the director arrived.

"I loved the pranks you guys pulled," he laughed. "We've got enough stuff for a whole year of the T.V. show we want to do. I can't believe that we got it all in such a short period of time!"

We grinned happily.

"So… We need to do something. You guys can't spend the rest of the year here before we begin filming again. We need you guys to go back with the rest of the Smashers… There are a lot of brawls you'll have to fight."

He sat down next to us. "So, one question remains. What should we tell the rest of the Smashers? No one in the outside world knows anything about what happened."

I thought for a moment. "Who says we need an explanation? Let's just turn up with breakfast tomorrow and pretend we have no clue what anyone's talking about."

The director stared at me before starting to laugh. "That's a great idea, Luigi. Absolutely genius."

I shrugged. Of course it was a good idea. It was my idea.

"Alright, would you three mind going and changing into something else?" the director asked, looking at Mario, Link, and Fox. "I need to talk to Luigi for a second."

They nodded and went to their rooms, still laughing and cheering.

"So. Luigi." The director focused all of his attention on me. "I need to talk to you about this T.V. show."

"Why?" I asked, confused.

He waved his hand. "Really just a permission thing. We want this show to be from your perspective for the most part. The show will be told almost entirely from the perspectives of the… less popular."

Oh.

Then it started to sink in. They wanted the show to be from my perspective! That was… that was…

Really, amazing was the only word to describe it.

"Yes. Yes, I'd love that. That'd be really cool," I said quickly. "There's no problem with doing it from my perspective."

"Excellent! And now, you'd better get some rest. You'll have to deal with a lot of questions tomorrow."

I grinned, gave him a quick wave, and jogged off to my room to change. Plus, I wanted a shower, too. The sooner this powder was off of me, the better.

xXx

We had slipped into our rooms late that night, and were ready to face the onslaught the next morning.

I was the first one of us to drag myself out of bed.

After dressing in a clean pair of clothes and being thankful that Wario had moved into another room after my 'passing', I headed to the dining room.

No one seemed to notice me. They were all caught up in their own conversations. That was okay. They'd notice me soon enough.

I quickly filled my plate with the French toast that was there, and made my way to my usual spot.

It was nice of my friends to leave an open spot where I'd usually sat in memory. Still…

I walked the length of the room, struggling to keep a straight face. I could do this. I could do this. I could do this…

"Is this seat taken?" I asked innocently, pointing to my usual spot.

"That's Luigi's seat, get lost you…" Wario trailed off as he realized who he was speaking to.

"Excellent!" I said cheerfully, letting a small smile creep onto my feature, behaving as close to how I usually would as possible.

I could feel the entire table's eyes on me. Trying not to let it show, I started to eat my toast.

And then, because of course he would…

"LUIGI!"

Toon Link's enthusiastic over the table tackle/hug sent me flying out of my seat, and we both skidded across the floor.

"Toon Link, what the—!" My French toast was now all over my shirt. Dang it, that meant _another_ shower…

All of the Smashers were now staring at me. Wonderful.

I struggled unsuccessfully to pry Toon Link's arms off of me. "Hey! Are you all going to sit there staring, or is someone going to help get the kid OFF of me?"

No one moved, leaving me to deal with Toon Link on my own.

I sighed, finally just standing up. Toon Link still didn't loosen his grip, leaving me to walk back to my seat with a kid hanging onto me. Well. That was just great.

I noticed that Link had taken the distraction as an opportunity to sit in his usual spot, giving me a quick grin. I sighed.

"Does anyone want to give me a hand?" I repeated.

"I will," Link said, standing up, looking like he'd been sitting there for a while. He walked over to me and kicked Toon Link in the ribs. "Oi, pipsqueak, let go."

Toon Link finally let go and stood up to a now completely astounded crowd. "LINK!" he squealed, jumping on the Hylian.

I sighed, as if I had no clue what all the fuss was about, and went to throw my now squashed breakfast away and get a clean plate.

Finally, someone moved. Before I could reach my seat again, Peach had stalked up to me, grabbed my shoulder, shaken me, and screamed, "WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?"

I blinked. "What are you talking about?"

She shook me again, harder, and I sighed as the contents of my plate once again ended up on my chest. Maybe I just wasn't destined to have French toast this morning.

"YOU DIED!"

I frowned. "I feel pretty alive right now."

"You left me all alone…" she whispered.

"I thought you had Mario," I answered, still acting confused.

"HE DIED TOO! You were working on what happened to him, and you figured it out! And then… then… you got… you got shot…"

I pointed at the red clad figure who'd just appeared in the doorway. "He's right there. Are you feeling okay?"

Peach let go of me and sprinted over to Mario.

I shook my head. For some reason, I didn't feel that upset about it. And not so long ago, I'd have been mad at Mario, but… not anymore.

A small smile crept onto my lips as I turned around to get my third breakfast.

Maya smiled at me from where she was keeping an eye on things at the doorway. I smiled back. Maybe we'd get together later or something. She was really nice, and she knew where I'd really been.

People began badgering me for answers when I finally made it to my seat, but I played dumb.

They finally shut up.

Just before I was going to leave, an announcement came over the intercom.

_"The auction has been completed. Please check the lists posted outside of the changing room to see who you'll be shadowed by and when. Thank you."_

As I was leaving, I headed straight for the lists.

All of my days had been sold. I grinned happily. If they'd been sold, that meant that someone out there liked me. I had fans out there.

It was shaping up to be a beautiful day.


End file.
